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Sunday, March 1

DEVILS-BLUE JACKETS

Cory Schneider's 33 saves lift Devils by Blue Jackets, 2-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Andy Greene scored, Travis Zajac added an empty-net goal, and Cory Schneider made 33 saves for his fourth shutout of the season to lead the New Jersey Devils past the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-0 on Saturday night.

Playing their lone road game in a 10-game, 23-day stretch, the Devils won for the first time in four away games. They had lost their previous two games overall.

Curtis McElhinney made 19 saves for Columbus, which has lost five in a row (0-4-1). The Blue Jackets are .500 on the road (14-14-2) but just 12-17-2 at home.

BLUE JACKETS-BOBROVSKY

Jackets activate goalie Sergei Bobrovsky from injured list

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky off injured reserve after he missed 15 games because of a groin injury.

The club also assigned goaltender Oscar Dansk to its American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Bobrovsky, winner of the 2013 Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie, is 16-15-2 record with a 2.85 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and one shutout in 33 games this season. The injury caused him to miss the All-Star game.

The 20-year-old Dansk was recalled this week to back up Curtis McElhinney, who has been starting in place of the injured Bobrovsky.

CAVALIERS-IRVING INJURY

Cavaliers' Irving to miss second game with shoulder injury

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star guard Kyrie Irving will miss his second straight game with a strained left shoulder.

Irving injured his shoulder in the second half Thursday night in a home win over Golden State. He did not travel with the team for Friday night's game at Indiana and the Cavs said he will also sit out Sunday's game at Houston.

Irving received more treatment on his shoulder Saturday at the team's training complex in Independence, Ohio. His status will next be updated at the team's shootaround on Tuesday before the Cavs host the Boston Celtics.

Cleveland lost 93-86 to the Pacers without Irving and LeBron James, who was kept out with a sore back. James has missed 11 games this season with an assortment of injuries and the team has gone 2-9 without the four-time MVP.

Irving is averaging 21.7 points and 5.2 assists.

T25-VILLANOVA-XAVIER

No. 6 Villanova beats Xavier 78-66 for its 10th straight win

CINCINNATI (AP) — Kris Jenkins' back-to-back 3-pointers started a late run that rallied No. 6 Villanova to its 10th straight victory on Saturday, 78-66 over Xavier.

The Wildcats (27-2, 14-2 Big East) made five 3s — their specialty — during a 17-7 spurt for their only substantial lead of the game. Jenkins had 14 points to go with Dylan Ennis' team-high 16.

The winning streak is Villanova's second-longest in Big East regular season play, trailing an 11-game streak in 2005-06. The Wildcats have won 27 games for the fourth time in school history.

Xavier (18-12, 8-9) led most of the way and had a nine-point advantage at the start of the second half. The Musketeers couldn't weather a late 3-point barrage by Villanova, which went 13 of 29 from beyond the arc overall.

MILWAUKEE-YOUNGSTOWN ST

Milwaukee holds off Youngstown St 82-74

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Matt Tiby and Akeem Springs combined for 43 points as Milwaukee recovered from a late Youngstown State run to win 82-74 on Saturday night.

The Panthers (14-16, 9-7 Horizon) led 46-29 at the break after Youngstown State shot just 28 percent. The Penguins improved to 43.6 percent in the second half, and a 16-2 run gave them the lead for the first time in the contest, 69-67, with 5:19 remaining.

Tiby answered with a 3 to put Milwaukee back in front with 4:57 left, and the Panthers clung to a narrow lead until 8-of-8 free throw shooting in the final 2 minutes sealed it.

KENT, Ohio (AP) — Shannon Evans scored 21 points and had six assists Saturday and Buffalo beat Kent State 71-65 to tie the Golden Flashes for second place in Mid-American Conference East Division standings.

Skeete hit four straight 3-pointers and Buffalo led 12-7 then pulled ahead 28-18 after a 3 by Evans. Kent State rallied to lead 31-30 after a 15-2 run, but Buffalo led 34-31 at halftime.

Bufflalo used a 16-10 second-half run capped by a 3-pointer by Evans to build a 50-41 lead, but Devareaux Manley scored 13 straight points to pull Kent State within 68-63 with 24 seconds left. Jimmy Hall made it a four-point game, 69-65, with a layup for the Golden Flashes, but Evans iced it with two free throws.

Nathan Boothe scored 12 points and Julius Brown had seven assists for the Rockets (19-10, 11-5), who entered the contest trailing first-place Central Michigan by a game in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings.

Toledo led 16-9 on a 3-pointer by Stuckey Mosley and never trailed. Julius Brown hit back-to-back jumpers and the Rockets led 36-25 at halftime, shooting 50 percent from the floor to Ball State's 29.4 percent. The Cardinals were 3 for 17 from 3-point range before intermission.

Ball State drew within five, 56-51, on a layup by Franko House, but Toledo pulled away on a 10-2 run and led 66-53 with 1:34 to go.

Bo Calhoun led Ball State (7-20, 2-14) with 30 points and House grabbed 10 rebounds.

CINCINNATI-TULANE

Cincinnati beats Tulane 63-47

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Octavius Ellis netted a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, as Cincinnati took an early lead and held it to beat Tulane 63-47 on Saturday.

Johnson sank back-to-back 3-pointers — he was 4 of 6 from distance overall — to cap a 13-4 start for the Bearcats on their way to a 30-16 advantage at the break.

Tulane got to within 12 points, 37-25, early in the second half but could not get closer as Cincinnati continued to dominate and cruised to the win. The Bearcats outrebounded Tulane 40-26 overall and finished with 47.2 percent shooting from the field compared to 34.8 percent for Tulane.

UIC (8-23, 4-12 Horizon League) hit just 17 of 49 shots, and were just 3 of 12 from 3-point range, but sank 24 of 27 foul shots off 22 Wright State fouls.

Wright State (11-19, 3-13) made more field goals (20 of 53), but took only five free throws, making three.

Brown has scored 21, 12 and 18 points in the past week although the Flames lost the first two in that span. Jay Harris added 12 points and dished eight assists for the Flames. Ahman Fells had 11 rebounds and four steals.

Brown tied the game at 10-10 with a layup as UIC used a 10-0 run to break away.

The Flames host a first-round tournament game Tuesday as the No. 6 seed.

BOWLING GREEN-MIAMI (OHIO)

Bowling Green finally wins at Miami (Ohio), 62-57

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — Zack Denny and Richaun Holmes combined to score 32 points as Bowling Green collected a win at Miami (Ohio) for the first time in five years, 62-57 on Saturday.

The Redhawks beat Bowling Green at Oxford four straight times.

The Falcons (19-8, 11-5) came into the game as a co-leader of the Mid-American Conference East Division with Kent State. More importantly, the win keeps Bowling Green among the top four teams in conference, which would earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Chris Bryant scored a layup with 2:23 left to give the Redhawks (12-17, 7-9) a 51-50 lead, but Denny answered with a 3-pointer to put Bowling Green ahead for good, 53-51 with just over two minutes left.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The gondola of the decommissioned Spirit of Goodyear blimp has landed at its new home in a Cleveland historical society exhibit.

The 3,400-pound gondola was built in 1982 and was also used on two earlier blimps, the America and Stars & Stripes. After the Spirit of Goodyear was retired a year ago, Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. donated the gondola to the Western Reserve Historical Society's Crawford Auto Aviation Collection.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports the historical society's president calls the gondola an "eyewitness to so much history." The blimps flew crew members and passengers above major sporting events such as the Super Bowl and the World Series.

Goodyear is replacing its blimp fleet with three new airships. The first was unveiled last year.